personal blog from fALk v010

20 Alternative Vector Graphic Programs reviewed

Adobe needs some fire under its pants and while those designers in Adobes arms are rarely looking for alternatives its still refreshing to see that there is a thriving market for Adobe program alternatives. I know that there are quite a few photoshop contenders out there that are shaping up to become real contenders (and I am not talking about Gimp which some argue is already there as PS replacement - I donīt), what I didnīt know is the huge market for lightweight vector programs of all sorts and kinds and most are programmable - something Adobe will not include into Illustrator in a million years (except for AfterEffects and maybe Flash (out of necessity) Adobe has avoided direct scriptability that they canīt control). The list in the linked article is long and intriguing and covers not only Mac apps but also a LOT of Linux apps and some Win apps - yes I am eying Linux if people havenīt noticed yet - Apples DRM crap and pure consumer orientation is coming to a tipping point for me very slowly (I have been using Apple since 1994 btw). So back to topic - the list of programs is stunning and includes everything from chart drawing to 2d cad oriented programs to experimental vector programs like NodeBox which lets you Python program your art (something very dear to my heart) and then lets you save it as Quicktime animation or PDF still. If you are a graphic designer and have ever needed a vector program you should have a look at this list and see if you might want to replace the worst program in Adobes lineup or finally put your copy of Freehand 10 to the old peoples home.